The Wires That Bind

For years, people have quietly endured exploitative and increasingly expensive internet services while relying on crumbling infrastructure. That all changed recently when a new local cooperative built internet infrastructure in Southwest Detroit. This new internet option, a point-to-point mesh network, is run by organizers from Grace in Action. Created in 2015, the program is called the Equitable Internet Initiative (EII) and is a partnership with the Detroit Community Technology Project. Instead of relying on Comcast Xfinity, the city’s major internet provider, EII builds and maintains a fixed wireless network that is owned and operated by neighbors. Customers say this new network is just as fast as Xfinity, but the biggest sticking point is the cost: unlike Xfinity, which charges up to $120 a month for customers and can include lots of hidden fees, EII charges a flat $10 a month for everyone. When the pandemic hit, EII became free.

[This multimedia project is supported by Humanity in Action and the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. It was written by Benton Fellow Adam Echelman in collaboration with Inside Southwest Detroit.]